Afghan war sees attacks rise

WASHINGTON — Insurgent activity is increasing sharply in Afghanistan and has spread into once stable areas, with attacks up almost 40 percent in the eastern provinces alone, according to new military data that have prompted alarm among senior Pentagon officials.

Rising attacks against Afghan and NATO troops in the east represent the latest in a series of troubling developments that have led to markedly higher U.S. casualties and have prompted the military's top leadership to order a review of its strategy in Afghanistan.

The new data, disclosed by Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser on Tuesday during a Pentagon news conference, covered the first five months of the year in an area of Afghanistan that has repeatedly been cited by senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as a success story. A similar assessment presented by Schloesser to top Pentagon brass in recent weeks sent shock waves through the department, a senior military officer said.

Schloesser, the U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, said attacks in the region also are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and he blamed them for a growing number of allied casualties. So far this year, 50 Americans have been killed in combat in Afghanistan, compared to 28 killed through the end of June last year.

The troubling numbers out of eastern Afghanistan come after a period of increasing concern on the part of military officials about the deterioration of security in the country. Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has been attempting to refocus attention inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill to the Afghan war.

Mullen has repeatedly expressed frustration that NATO allies have not provided the numbers of troops needed to wage a complex counterinsurgency campaign. He also has voiced the fear that the U.S., with heavy commitments in Iraq, cannot currently muster the three brigades, or about 10,000 troops, that commanders believe are needed to fill the gap.

"Violence is up this year by every single measure we look at," Mullen told members of his staff at a public meeting Monday, noting the spread of roadside bombs.

As part of his effort to rethink the Afghan mission, Mullen has asked military planners to develop new strategies for deploying additional troops if they become available.